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Williams, 20, was selected to play basketball for Australia in 2010 and tomorrow will board a plane to Seoul for the Asia Pacific Deaf Games.

"When I found out I had the chance to play for Australia it overwhelmed me," Williams said.

"I didn't know what to do."

Williams decided to play basketball as a young boy and since then has played in local league and moved up to the Queensland Basketball League playing for Port City Power.

Williams is partially deaf in both ears, but he never feels disadvantaged against the other players.

"I'm exactly the same as every other guy that plays.

"In the young years it was tough. It still is sometimes. As you get older you learn to accept it," he said.

In preparation for the world championships Williams has been training hard and travelling to be with the Australian squad.

"There has been lots of training trips to Melbourne," he said.

Luckily for Williams he has found plenty of support right here in Gladstone to help him prepare.

In fact, he was given a key to the basketball stadium so he could train as often as he had to. And he will have a little piece of home to take with him to Seoul.

Before he headed off to a three-day training camp in Melbourne last week ahead of the championships his workmates from Jetstar at the Gladstone Airport gave him an Australian flag which they had all signed.